For the most part, this current Clippers squad has looked like a generally improved team thus far, but tonight’s poor performance evoked some horrible memories of the disaster that was last season. The formula built by last season’s Clippers on how to lose is followed perfectly tonight.

Was there poor rebounding? Check. Last year, the Clippers finished 27th in total rebounding differential. Tonight, the Clippers lose the battle 51-36 for a -15 differential. The overwhelming difference on the glass is inexcusable, particularly on the defensive end where the Clippers allow an incredible 19 offensive rebounds. Even more incredible is that the Clippers weren’t outsized tonight at all – they enjoyed a size advantage at nearly every position. Unfortunately this didn’t mean anything, as the Clippers let themselves get outworked by a scrappier team tonight.

Are random role players going off for big scoring nights? Check. The Anthony Marrow’s of the world destroyed the Clippers last year for career games. Tonight, Devin Brown hits the Clippers for 16, and Marcus Thornton and Bobby Brown each chip in 12, well over their season averages. All night the Clippers perimeter defenders are either slow on closeouts or allow too much space for the young New Orleans wing players to get their shots off.

Is Baron Davis chucking up bad shots? Check. Baron was terrible shooting the ball last year at 37% from the field and 30% from deep. Baron seemed to be on the road to recovery by distributing more and shooting less, and then tonight happened. Baron threw up a team high 21 shots tonight, with 12 of those 21 coming from three point land. Again, this type of performance is absolutely inexcusable, and Baron’s bad shot selection killed the Clippers down the stretch. Everyone in the arena except for Baron realized he wasn’t a threat from outside tonight. The Clippers essentially have no chance to win when Baron reverts back to the shot happy, poor decision making version of himself that he was last year.

Was the offense predictable? Check. Last season, the Clippers offense was predicated around Randolph post ups and the occasional set for Gordon. While it’s understandable that Dunleavy wants to get the ball in the hands of his scorers on the block, tonight it felt like overkill. Too many post entry passes were forced, which led to many of the team’s 16 turnovers. There didn’t seem to be a ton of pick and roll being ran, and outside of the few plays designed for Novak there wasn’t a big enough emphasis on setting off ball screens to free up shooters. The Hornets caught on pretty quick to the Clippers gameplan and successfully collapsed on post players all night. Yes, Dunleavy has limited options available offensively right now, but the offense felt like it was pounding it’s collective head against the wall at times. I’m not sure you can win when the shot distribution leans so heavily on three players; Baron had 21 attempts, Kaman had 18, and Thornton had 17. The rest of the team combined for only 26 field goal attempts. To the Clippers credit, the team did shoot 47% from the field, which should have been good enough for the team to win. This was the 8th game in 12 tries where the Clippers have out shot their opponent from the field, and despite being 8th in the league in field goal percentage, the Clippers are 4-8.

Did the team look lackadaisical? Check. The Clippers coasted through many a game last year, and they did it again tonight in New Orleans. The team seemingly carried the mentality that they were the favorite, and in result of that had no sense of urgency despite the Hornets pasting them by 28 just a few short weeks ago. The lack of respect given to the Hornets outside shooters combined with the lazy effort on the boards did the Clippers in tonight. Effort is the key component in playing good defense and rebounding well, and tonight the Clippers were just plain bad in those categories. The blame for this poor effort falls equally on the players and the coaching staff.

Other Notes:

The Clippers wasted an amazingly efficient offensive effort from Al Thornton tonight, who finished 12-17 for a game high 30 points. Al has seemingly figured it out on the offensive end, and while the transformation is nowhere near complete, it’s safe to say it’s starting. Al took only two shots from outside 18 feet tonight and was dominant around the rim.

Kareem Rush left the game with a knee injury, and the return on his status is not favorable. Rush has a torn ACL, and will be out for the rest of the season. It’s a tough break for Rush, who showed he was capable of contributing with his performance on Monday against Oklahoma City.

The Clippers will look to rebound tomorrow night in Memphis at 5pm PT.

Do the Clippers Suck? Check.
Can I wait for next years Number #1 pick for the Clippers to be injured and never play? Check.

Chris.

I’d take a hurt John Wall over a healthy Baron Davis any day of the week.

Chris.

I love the Clippers but this was the most pathetic excuse for an NBA team I have every seen, Al Thorton aside for the starters.

I could tell that Baron was going to lose it for the team a little more than 3 minutes into the 3rd quarter. With the Clippers finally down by three and climbing back, NOH scores to go up by 5. Then Baron, who just hurt his freaking right hand and was still making a fist in pain comes down and shoots a terrible 3 point shot and fails miserably. Of course this lets NOH run to the other side and nail a wide open 3. What was once a 3 point lead again had become a 14 point lead in no time because of terrible shot choices on our part.

With Baron Davis & Rasual Butler as our starting backcourt we are in a lose-lose situation. I’d also like to add on a night like this when we should have won easily it was the worst defeat of the season with NO EFFORT WHATSOEVER… wtf Dunleavy, if you can’t get these million dollar professional athletes to have an interest or excitement or effort or effing spirit to even play the game why are you wasting our time. As the GM, do the right thing & fire the worst coach in the league right now.

Q.D.

I think Don Nelson and Mike Dunleavy are having a staring contest to see who will blink first in firing themselves. So far, there are no winners, only losers

Chris.

I’d rather have Don Nelson as our coach, at least his teams run when they plan on running & the Clippers show no effort.

ClippsUK

Tough call. Don Nelson doesn’t appear to give a shit as to how his team develops or plays BUT lets them run. Dunleavy does appear to care but just seems incapable of getting the players to play well consistently for him and also seems incapable of utilising the strengths of the the players at his disposal.

I’d rather have Alvin Gentry!!!Come back Alvin, all is forgiven (well, not all!).

The players are lazy, and it’s the coaching staff that has to crack the whip. I think dunleavey is a wienie. John Lucas looks like he wants to take the clipboard away from dunleavey and smack him across the face with it. The guy has a lot of energy, if only he was our coach..

Q.D.

Great wrap up,

It seems like the only thing I look forward to every year regarding the clippers is clipperblog wrap ups, the lottery drawing and summer league.

With Kareem done from the rest of the season, does that open a roster spot?

http://www.clipperblog.com D.J. Foster

Thanks Q.D. – Expect Rush to be released soon. He wasn’t on a guaranteed contract, so the Clippers don’t lose anything financially by clearing up the roster spot. Let the Iverson rumors begin…

http://www.clipperblog.com D.J. Foster

My mistake – it appears that Rush WILL get paid, even though his contract wasn’t guaranteed. That’s good – you’d feel terrible for the guy if he didn’t get the rest of his deal because of the injury.

The Clippers can still waive Rush and clear a roster spot. Nothing changes about that.

Chris.

Looks like Monta Ellis wants out of Golden State… can we send Baron back to them and get Monta. It works via trade checker, Ellis is younger and a much better shooter and not named Baron, but his not great contract lasts 4 years (his contract isn’t as bas as Baron’s though money wise). Let’s get rid of Baron & Dunleavy, that is a win-win.

SamMays

Exactly right… Ellis is a terrible PG, but I’d make the trade in a heartbeat. Ellis can still play basketball. Baron is done… He’s too stupid to play point, chucking up 3’s at a rate of 0% last night… Hurts his hand and keeps shooting them… Unbelievable stupidity…

This team will not make a move until BOTH Baron and Dunleavy are gone. If I had to live with one, franky, I’d rather be stuck with Dunleavy. Baron is the worst teammate to have in the league this side of Iverson.

Chris.

Who would u rather have right now since we could get both, Baron or Iverson?

SamMays

Ha! There are players in the league who do a team more harm than good, often despite their talent… I put my list together last year. It included Ricky Davis, Baron Davis, Zach Randolph and Allen Iverson… There were a few others on it, Stephen Jackson, Stephan Marbury, Eddy Curry, Tinsley, Steve Francis… Basically, the biggest knuckleheads in the league… And we came close to having four of them…

I also had Jamal Crawford on it… That might have been my one mistake, but I have faith he’ll revert to form and start hurting the Hawks.

Basically, I think having any of those guys on the team would be a huge mistake.

Chris.

You forgot to add Mike Dunleavy to the list of people who hurt his team more than he helps them. Player or not he’s the #1 detriment. Sure he brought together this team which is supposed to be good on paper. Last year we were supposed to be better on paper & the year before. He’s the #1 team killer EVER!

Curtis

Are you kidding me? Rush tore his ACL? My heart goes out to the guy. When it rains, it shits in Clipper Land.

Aside from that, as DJ mentioned, it really didn’t seem like the team played with any sense of urgency until the last couple of minutes, and by then it was too late. As talented as our roster is, there’s no identity to the team. It just feels like the guys go out there night after night going through the same motions with the same results.

It was just ridiculous seeing the Hornets gobble three or four of their offensive rebounds in a single set on multiple occasions. And aside from that, watching our team fight for rebounds amongst each other only to be bobbled out of bounce a few times.

How is that we can dominate nearly category of the game and still lose to a beaten and broken NOH team? How is it that this franchise seems to be making the right steps every year, but when the season starts, everything just collapses? It’s just so frustrating.

Stian

Tonight’s game in one word: Pathetic.

Not that I’m surprised at the outcome – how many times have we seen the Clippers lay a goose egg against a ‘weaker’ opponent after a nice W? I’ve lost count.

With Blake Griffin out, there is absolutely no hustle, energy or effort from this team. Blake with his mere presence shames other guys into playing hard(er) – with him out we get the same old complacent, lazy, I-can’t-be-bothered team.

Sad but true.

Bottom line: This team is D.O.N.E. until a) Mike Dunleavy AND b) Baron Davis are removed.

You want to see the key stat to this season – it’s Baron Davis ’08/’09 vs BD 09’/10:

But, BUT – wasn’t last year supposed to be an aberration? Weren’t we supposed to get a new and improved Baron – the one who promised us his best ever season only a couple of months ago?

Liar, liar – beard’s on fire!

http://www.clipperblog.com D.J. Foster

Those are some damning numbers, but note that his shot attempts from the field and from 3 are both down this year. The numbers obviously looked a lot better before tonight. Your point is taken though.

Stian

DJ, these numbers are based on the first 11 games – tonite excluded.

Essentially nothing has changed with Baron.

If we can sucker a team into taking this bum off our hands because “he can’t be this bad – this is only because he’s playing for the Clippers” – so much for the better. The Warriors were able to dump a malcontent like Jackson – we should be able to move Baron as well.

http://www.clipperblog.com D.J. Foster

I see that now – my mistake.

I know we’ve gone back and forth on Baron plenty of times in the past, but I really do feel like he’s been a better player this year. Shooting the ball he’s obviously still a wreck, but he’s definitely getting to the rim with more frequency and doing a better job of distributing.

SamMays

It’s a point guards job to be a leader on the floor, make the system work and make the other players better. Baron did that in preseason, shooting about 11 times a game, but as soon as the lights came on, Baron felt he had to be a star again.

He’s our biggest problem and the dumbest PG in the league.

RL

Those stats are somewhat misleading. Although it is true that Baron’s shot is not falling (but really – Baron was never an accurate shooter, he always got his points by volume, not efficiency), his assists per game should be around 9-10 if the big guys wouldn’t bobble some of his nice passes, or miss those gimme layups. He has also done an above average job setting up the offense, either by penetrating and dishing to the open man or by simply recognizing the favorable matchups To expect Baron to put up 20+ points like his GS days is also unfair, since he is not the center piece of this Clipper team. Furthermore, the Clipper offense is not similar to the fast frenetic non-stop offense of his GS days – so of course that reduces his number of shots. His defense has also stepped up quite a bit, though one could argue that he has a bad habit of gambling for steals. Overall, I’m satisfied with Baron’s performance this season, with the exception of the NO game where he reverted back to last year.

My main and only beef with this current team is the lack of coaching. I’ve been VERY patient with Dunleavy, but this lost to NO is the last straw. Losing to a team without their superstar and getting outcoached by someone who has NEVER coached in any league is well.. unacceptable.

Example: letting Marcus Camby, who will always have a problem with stretch fours, try to guard the ultimate stretch four in David West is inexcusable. Camby’s excellent weak side help was rendered useless as he had to stay with West on the perimeter. And when West got the ball on the perimeter, he had the freedom to throw up J’s as he wished – since Camby is not fast enough to keep up and had to give him some perimeter space. Why not give Smith a run at West? Or Butler? Both are better perimeter defenders. And if West decides to go down low, at least he will have to deal with either Camby or Kaman coming over from the weak side.

Another example: Dunleavy failed to tell (or remind) the wings to stay on their perimeter assignments. The team countlessly rotated after NO ran a screen or a pick and roll, of course allowing an outside shooter to get open and drain uncontested 3s. Why not let their opposing guards penetrate and deal with our bigs? Last time I checked Collison, Bobby Brown, or anyone else not named CP3, can’t finish around the rim. And to make matters worse, this is how the Clips lost the first time to NO… I’d figure Dunleavy would have picked up on it.

Anyway, sorry for my long rant… had to get it off my chest. Phew.. now I can go to sleep in peace. ^_^

RL

Oh.. and one last rant: was it too hard for the coach to remind the team to box out? We got outrebounded by 51-36. WOW.

Ok now I’m done for reals… good night.

http://www.clipperblog.com D.J. Foster

Great comment sir. Particularly enjoyed the bit on Camby.

Curtis

I agree RL, that was a fairly insightful comment. I really like Baron Davis as well and I think he is a positive addition to this Clipper team. It just sucks that we’re having an extremely tough time winning any of these stupid games.

And like you, I really hate to jump on the Fire Dunleavy Hate Wagon, but it’s obvious something isn’t clicking. Unfortunately, Dunleavy hasn’t been a good match for this Clipper team. When you look at this team, it’s unbelievable that we’re 4 – 8 right now.

Also, I can’t stress it enough, I feel absolutely terrible for K. Rush. Knowing how he worked so hard. Going from barely making the team to being the 7th or 8th option off the bench to tear his ACL and end his season. I have to say that is right up there with the Livingston injury.

SamMays

Having coached at the high school level, I’ve found that no matter how much you teach and preach boxing out, only a few players actually do it. At the NBA level it’s even worse. Rebounding is about wanting the ball and going quickly to get it… Ben Wallace, at his best, seldom boxed out. He just went and got it…

Dwight Howard doesn’t usually box out. He just goes and gets the ball. Boxing out isn’t the Clippers problem. Lack of hustle and desire is.

Shawn H.

The Clippers are like the Bill Murray character in “Groundhog Day”…someone not as beloved keeps waking up to the same shit happening over and over again. Except here, there’s a different episode with the Clippers each time, but more often the same result. I think Sam has the right idea here…not only there’s a lack of hustle and desire, but also just lack of fundamental basketball. From ball movement, to boxing out, to diving for loose balls, to defensive rotations (or just simply staying with your man)…you don’t see with this team. I’m all for a run-and-gun type of basketball, but you gotta do the little things. The Celtics (whether it was the Russell, Cowens, or Bird teams) or the Showtime Lakers were fast-breaking team that also did the little things. I’m not means comparing the Clippers to those teams, but if these players ever want to learn to win…they need to follow those examples.

http://Lou Lou

You nailed it Sam. I do not thin MD can motivate the players. I remember one of the reason Pat Reilly quit with the Lakers it was because he could not motivate the players anymore. It is time for MD to replace himself with somebody else.

SamMays

Psychologically, the Clippers are a mess… I think they hate Dunleavy, so they don’t work hard for him, hoping he gets fired, perhaps even subconsciously… But they won’t dog it in ways that are obvious to most fans…

For example, Baron will still go for steals and occasionally make the exceptional play, but will take lots of time off defensively… He won’t move the ball, instead just dribble time off the clock and then throw up garbage. Other players won’t hit the open man. How many times have we seen Camby hoist his low percentage jump shot when all he would have to do is make one more pass to Gordon who is wide open?

I think some of these guys subconsiously WANT TO FAIL because that’s the surest way to get Dunleavy fired…. They’re probably not even aware of it, but they’re not making the hustle plays required to win. They’re not boxing out, setting accurate picks, etc… They’re not playing smart enough to win, because as least some of them (Baron Davis) would rather lose and get Dunleavy out, in hopes they’ll get a more player friendly coach…

To me this says a lot about the coach, but even more about the character, or lack thereof, of a player like Baron Davis. I always remember the line from “White Men Can’t Jump.” You’d rather look good and lose, than look bad and win.” That to me describes Baron Davis to a T.

los831

too bad Zbo isnt here… the dunz really thought Griffin would be okay right away even with Camby

Jordan

RL is right on. Some of you on here may be hating on Baron Davis, but he went out this summer and dedicated himself to slimming down and getting right. he’s shooting a career best from the stripe, an area of scoring that is all on him. As for the rest of his game, he’s being forced to run whatever it is that MDS is calling his offense. In all reality, Kaman should not be the number one option. Just look at how horrible he looks in crunch time. Rather, the team should rely on Kaman if the offense slows down or as the primary option in a half court set. With the athletes on this team, there’s no reason why the Clips shouldn’t be a running squad. That’s Baron’s game. Look at what happened to Steve Nash when he was forced to change his style. While Baron’s game is fundamentally different than Nash’s, a free-flowing, running offense is where both excel. It’s stupid to pay a point guard star money and then force him to play the opposite of what has made him a star. That’s the opposite of smart and while Baron hasn’t been the most consistent hustler, he makes stupid plays, it seems to be more because he’s unsure of himself and confused as to the offensive game plan rather than because he’s just not a smart player. Anyone who has watched BD over his entire career will know that outside of the at times questionable shot selection, BD knows how to get his players the ball and make plays.

Right now, he just looks lost and disinterested in what Dunleavy is preaching. And who can blame him? Since Dunleavy’s been with the Clips, he’s posted a 194-296 record that calculates out to a putrid 39 percent winning percentage. And his coaching doesn’t pass the visual test either. It’s not like we look at what’s going on and say, yeah, if that guy would have just made that shot, then I can see how this offense would run smoothly. There’s nothing smooth going on.

Can’t argue with the man’s GMing ability, but i don’t see the coaching skills. Never have. MDSr’s team’s have always underperformed.

And my thoughts go out to Kareem Rush.

Formerly Section 113

Hysterical people actually defending Baron….folks he is stealing your money..and they yahoo who defends him by saying he is shooting a career best at the line…WOW!!!!

Bottom line is he got in shape, and he still sucks, and there is still 3 3/4 years of this to come….well someone will trade for his expiring contract in about 2 years…so some solace in that.

I am so happy that I didn’t renew!

Jordan

So, when u were a season ticket holder and at the games, did you actually watch the games? Or did you just sit there and gripe about how awful the Clippers were? Baron doesn’t “suck.” He’s not being used the right way. It may be hard for people who paid good money for season tickets to be unbiased, I get that. But I wouldn’t take it out on the players. Mike Dunleavy needs to go. If this team was coached by any of the other 29 coaches out there, the Clips would not have a losing record. Period.

http://www.szlftattoo.com tattoo needles

Baron did that in preseason, shooting about 11 times a game, but as soon as the lights came on, Baron felt he had to be a star again.